New success story: warfarin self-testing

Struggling with busy and time-consuming anticoagulation clinics, Pendleside Medical Practice implemented warfarin self-testing with the engage app. They wanted to reduce the time commitment for nurses and patients alike and found some surprising benefits.

Newsroom

New Adapter Cap technology benefits self-testing patients

New Adapter Cap enables anticoagulation self-testing patients to send their INR results directly to their clinicians

We have recently announced our new product which helps current INR self-testing patients on anticoagulation (AC) therapy to connect directly to their care teams. The LumiraDx Adapter Cap clips on to Roche’s Coagucheck XS and connects it to mobile phones and tablets by converting the infrared output to a Bluetooth signal. Patients can then send their INR result directly to their care team via the engage app.

Original technology

The original technology of the Adapter Cap enables patients to benefit from the increased safety and seamless connection of the engage app without the need to buy a new device – saving patients and the NHS money. The Adapter Cap helps eliminate transcription errors by sending INR results straight to the patient’s record in the clinician’s system via INRstar.

“We believe the cap will allow the thousands of people with a CoaguChek XS to experience the simplicity and improved experience of Bluetooth connectivity via the engage app without the expense of upgrading to a new device.” Ben Townend, Product Manager, LumiraDx Care Solutions

Connected

engage is a truly integrated self-care solution available to over 2,700 INRstar NHS locations across the UK with significant potential cost savings for CCGs. Supported by the easy-to-use engage app, which also interfaces with the CoaguChek INRange, patients can self-test at home and send their INR results back to their clinic. Results are reviewed by their care team, who dose them and send instructions back via the app. The process is fast and simple, saving on average 1.5 hours of nurse time per patient per year.1engage gives patients more choice, convenience and freedom from regular trips to the clinic whilst safely supporting them to stay connected and under the guidance of their care team.

Supported

engage fully integrates with our market-leading AC management software, INRstar, and is in use across the UK, where it is supporting patients to achieve higher TTR2 and improved INR stability3 therefore reducing the risk of adverse events such as bleeding and clots.

“It’s one of the best things that I’ve ever been given.” Bill, 61, Yorkshire, engage self-tester.

References:

1 From 2015 to 2016 the Isle of Wight CCG piloted self-testing with 78 out of 288 (27%) warfarin patients at a single practice. Time saving: On average 1.5 hours were saved per patient per year in clinic time.

2 At the end of the Isle of Wight pilot, engage self-testing patients achieved a TTR of 74.8%, higher than the non–self-testing patients with a TTR of 73.9%. TTR improved most in patients with pre-existing low TTR percentages. 70% of the patients with a baseline TTR of <65% showed an improvement in TTR during the trial.

3 The average standard deviation of INR for self-testing patients improved from 0.6 at the beginning of the trial to 0.5 at the end of the Isle of Wight CCG case study.

Posted by LumiraDx Care Solutions

LumiraDx Care Solutions is the home of INRstar, the UK’s market-leading anticoagulation clinical decision support software (CDSS) and engage, the patient app, which offers a range of self-care programmes for long-term conditions. engage was ‘Highly Commended’ in the Best Healthcare App category of the Building Better Healthcare Awards, November 2017.